Books

A Confederacy of Dunces (Evergreen Book)

Average customer rating:

Not for Mongoloids
A confederacy of Dunces
Could not get into it
Just not funny.
Long live NOLA!

A Confederacy of Dunces (Evergreen Book)
John Kennedy Toole
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell
The Neon Bible
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West
Catch-22

ASIN: 0802130208

Amazon.com

"A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head. The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles that grew in the ears themselves, stuck out on either side like turn signals indicating two directions at once. Full, pursed lips protruded beneath the bushy black moustache and, at their corners, sank into little folds filled with disapproval and potato chip crumbs."

Meet Ignatius J. Reilly, the hero of John Kennedy Toole's tragicomic tale, A Confederacy of Dunces. This 30-year-old medievalist lives at home with his mother in New Orleans, pens his magnum opus on Big Chief writing pads he keeps hidden under his bed, and relays to anyone who will listen the traumatic experience he once had on a Greyhound Scenicruiser bound for Baton Rouge. ("Speeding along in that bus was like hurtling into the abyss.") But Ignatius's quiet life of tyrannizing his mother and writing his endless comparative history screeches to a halt when he is almost arrested by the overeager Patrolman Mancuso--who mistakes him for a vagrant--and then involved in a car accident with his tipsy mother behind the wheel. One thing leads to another, and before he knows it, Ignatius is out pounding the pavement in search of a job.

Over the next several hundred pages, our hero stumbles from one adventure to the next. His stint as a hotdog vendor is less than successful, and he soon turns his employers at the Levy Pants Company on their heads. Ignatius's path through the working world is populated by marvelous secondary characters: the stripper Darlene and her talented cockatoo; the septuagenarian secretary Miss Trixie, whose desperate attempts to retire are constantly, comically thwarted; gay blade Dorian Greene; sinister Miss Lee, proprietor of the Night of Joy nightclub; and Myrna Minkoff, the girl Ignatius loves to hate. The many subplots that weave through A Confederacy of Dunces are as complicated as anything you'll find in a Dickens novel, and just as beautifully tied together in the end. But it is Ignatius--selfish, domineering, and deluded, tragic and comic and larger than life--who carries the story. He is a modern-day Quixote beset by giants of the modern age. His fragility cracks the shell of comic bluster, revealing a deep streak of melancholy beneath the antic humor. John Kennedy Toole committed suicide in 1969 and never saw the publication of his novel. Ignatius Reilly is what he left behind, a fitting memorial to a talented and tormented life. --Alix Wilber

Customer Reviews:

Not for Mongoloids.......2007-06-21

This is probably my favorite book. I think once I got into the crux of it, I laughed out loud on almost every page. Toole takes every opportunity to depict Ignatius as an unbearable oaf, and it is hilarious. I would recommend this to fans of "The Office (the UK one at least, maybe the American); Ignatius is more absurd and intolerable than David Brent! Expect a verbose read, but it is easy to fall in love with this story.

A confederacy of Dunces.......2007-06-14

I found out about this book reading the intro to a Pearls Before Swine comic book, written by Stephen Pastis. Stephen expressed loving the humor in the early Saturday Night live skits, Mr. Bill, John Belushi and other comic books such as Calvin and Hobbs. He greatly admired Toole's novel, as being comic genius. So since I love the comic genius of Pearls, I gave A Confederacy a go. Well happily I found out that its one of the funniest books I have ever read, intelligent, and pure. Thanks Mr. Pastis for the recommendation!

Could not get into it.......2007-06-06

This book is good for many reasons and bad for many others. The characters are brilliantly thought out and he combines plots and situations very well. The statements that he makes about society in his own way are amusing and very poignant.

That being said, I was expecting funny. Perhaps I have a horrible sense of humor, but I never thought I did. I didn't laugh out loud; I hardly thought the situation were funny. I tried to picture them actually happening visually, and I guess that was kind of funny, but still didn't do much for me. The characters are largely unlikeable and I didn't find myself caring about any of them; thus, I really could not get into this novel.

Try it out if you want, but don't pay full price at Borders as I did.

Just not funny........2007-06-01

I came across this book amidst many recommendations on how laugh-out-loud funny it is, and have always been bowled over whenever I've reasd a Pulitzer Prize winner. I really wanted it to be funny, and I could see these ridiculous scenarios building up to their humorous climax in anticipation, but they quite simply weren't funny. I get what the author was going for - this absurd, delusional, quixotic train-wreck of a slob in Ignatius. It was a clever book at points (especially Ignatius' writings). I did laugh to myself a couple times, but most of the time, the humor missed the mark for me, and when something tries to be funny and fails over and over it just gets tired.

I kept waiting for this to get funny all the way until the end of the book, it just didn't happen. Not a bad book per se, but given the accolades it's received, and the fact that it's a Pulitzer Prize winner, I'm very dissappointed. This is the first time I've ever read a Pulitzer winner and not been really impressed.

Long live NOLA! .......2007-05-27

I love this book and read it once or twice every year. With that said, I totally understand the conflicting reviews of this book. One either loves it or hates it. Not much middle ground. Ah,the beauty of lit, music,and art. . .Subjectivity! Ummmmmmmm, anyone care to discuss the greatness of Jackson Pollock????

Average customer rating:

Dragged out and Predictable
so so
The Client
Who believes this?
I liked the movie better

The Client (Limited Edition)
John Grisham
Manufacturer: DoubleDay
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Pelican Brief
The Chamber
The Firm
A Time to Kill
The Rainmaker

ASIN: 0385470150
Release Date: 1993-03-01

Amazon.com

Mark Sway, age 11 but years wiser thanks to a drunken dad who abused his mom, is out in the woods behind his Memphis trailer park teaching his kid brother, Ricky, how to smoke Virginia Slims heisted from Mom's purse. He's a pretty upright kid--he's determined to protect his brother from drugs, and he once defended his mom with a baseball bat.

The dangers of smoking rapidly escalate when Mark glimpses a guy trying to commit suicide by carbon monoxide in his car nearby and tries to stop him. The guy is Jerome, a lawyer who tells Mark that his Mafia client has murdered Senator Boyd Boyette and buried him in the concrete under his garage in New Orleans. Then Jerome puts a bullet in his own head. Little Ricky flips out, and so does Barry the Blade Muldanno, who doesn't want blustery U.S. attorney Reverend Roy Foltrigg to find the corpse and bust him. Caught in a ruthless game between the Mob and the amoral authorities, Mark's family has no defense in the world except Reggie Love, a 50ish divorcée who has just turned her life around by becoming a lawyer. Does she have what it takes to help Mark beat the system? The life-or-death chase is on!

Mark has seen a lot of movies, and he sees life in cinematic terms. So does Grisham. Even if this novel had never been filmed, it would still be a really good, fast-paced movie. Its literary limitation is also its filmlike virtue: The Client is a rush.

Amazon.com Audiobook Review

With her sparkling voice and superb acting ability, Blair Brown gives an impressive reading of this John Grisham blockbuster. The story hinges on a young boy who gets an unwanted earful of murder, politics--and dangerous secrets about both--from a conscience-stricken mob lawyer bent on suicide. "I can tell you where the body is... the most notorious undiscovered corpse of our time." Just the kind of information most children don't need, especially when the snakeskin-wearing hit man finds out what he knows. Aside from musical cues scattered as superfluously as laugh tracks on a sitcom, the production quality is stellar, preserving the crispness of Blair's voice and the nuances of her excellent interpretation. (Running time: 6 hours, 4 cassettes) --George Laney

Book Description

In a weedy lot on the outskirts of memphis, two  boys watch a shiny Lincoln pull upt ot the  curb...Eleven-year-old Mark Sway and his younger brother  were sharing a forbidden cigarrette when a chance  encounter with a suicidal laywer left Mark knowing  a bloody and explosive secret: the whereabouts of  the most sought-after dead body in America.

Now Mark is caught between a  legal system gone mad and a mob killer desperate to  cover up his crime. And his only ally is a woman  named Reggie Love, who has been a lawyer for all of  four years.
Prosecutors are willing to break all the rules to make  Mark talk. The mob will stop at nothing to keep him  quiet. And Reggie will do anything to protect her  client -- even take a last, desperate gamble that  could win Mark his freedom... or cost them both  their lives.

Customer Reviews:

Dragged out and Predictable.......2007-02-10

Eleven year old Mark Sway only wanted to go out for a smoke and relax when he encountered a suicidal man. As he tried to stop the suicide, Mark learned a dark secret, the location of a dead senator's body. Now the FBI is after him for that vary secret, and the Mafia is after him, in hopes of silencing him. Who will get to him first?

The novel held a promising plot that went down hill when things were dragged out and utterly predictable. Throughout the whole 500 plus page novel, Mark debated the pros and cons of telling the FBI the location of the senator's body, which was obvious that at the end, he was going to spill it anyways. Then, throughout the whole book, The Blade (the senator's killer) was satisfied with where the body was buried, but when Mark decided to dig it up, The Blade decided on the same thing at the same time, just to add some predictable suspense. In general, there wasn't enough conflict or intrigue, while the same things kept happening over and over again. The only reason I gave this book three stars was because Mark was an enjoyable character and I enjoyed the mob aspect of the plot.

so so .......2006-12-16

I actually enjoyed the book so much at the beginning, and thought it would get even more interesting and was so excited that I was unfolding the events one by one. But, unfortunately, when I read almost two third of the book, I was gradually losing my interest and desire to carefully read it and finally, I found myself just skimming the book real quickly.. This story grabbed my attention at the beginning but as it continued to develop the plot, it became quite boring because this story was totally unrealistic. yes, it is fiction but there are too many coincidences and too much luck for the kid. the lawyer, judge, and all other minor characters surrounding the kid, they're are quite nonsense and that's why i am giving only 3 stars.

The Client.......2006-12-02

I hated this book. I'm not one to write a review, but I felt a desperate need to write one for this book. By the end I hated the kid, I hated the lawyer, and I hated the Juvenile judge. Why didn't the kid just tell what he knew at the beginning of the book? Because then you have no story and you can't fill up over 400 pages. The bad guys turned out to be law enforcement people who were only trying to solve a mafia murder. It didn't make sense. The only redeeming feature was I got the book for free. Anything above that would have been too much to pay.

Who believes this?.......2006-08-06

This novel is absolute dreck, at the best. I don't think I could ever pick up another Grisham novel without vomiting. Pelican Brief was Okay. But, I honestly cannot read him again, because of this.
The reason for this one star rating is this.
First, the protaganist is a stupid punk kid, who by the end of the novel you are actually hoping gets shot or SOMETHING!
Second, 496 pages filled with "blah blah blah" There wasn't enough content to constitute a five hundred page novel. Maybe one hundred, and then it would have been decent.
Third, When reading about a murder mystery with the mob involved, you would at least expect more blood-shed, or more death. Especially since this is targeted at a group that enjoys those kinds of things.
Fourth, although written at a fourth grade level no fourth grader should be allowed within three hundred feet for all the swearing that takes place. Speech and the written word, are signs of intelligence, Vulgarity is something people use when they don't know how to convey something accurately. Honestly every page has at least some.
Now you know,that unless you want your socks bored off, you shouldn't even look in the section that has Grisham in it. If you want to read something light, that's believable, not Fantasy and not Romance, read Crichton.

I liked the movie better.......2006-07-11

You can hardly read this with out putting it down... although I grew up with Brad Renfro a smartmouthed, punk being Mark Sway... in the book... he is a bit of a weenie, I mean in some parts I see the movie Mark, like in the book when they are at Clifford's house.. he wasn't afraid of anything.. but some parts he was crying unconsolably... you kind of get mixed feelings about mark... I don't know maybe if I had read the book first, I would feel differently, but I feel the movie was much better... made Mark seem more real in my honest opinion. I will give Grishams other books a chance.. the only other movie I have seen is A Time To Kill... The Client was my first Grisham book/movie.. I'll have to check out ATTK...

The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel

Average customer rating:

The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
James Lee Burke
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Jesus Out to Sea: Stories
The Overlook (Harry Bosch)
Bad Luck and Trouble
Pegasus Descending: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries)
Invisible Prey

ASIN: 1416548483
Release Date: 2007-07-17

Book Description

In the waning days of summer, 2005, a storm with greater impact than the bomb that struck Hiroshima peels the face off southern Louisiana.

This is the gruesome reality Iberia Parish Sheriff's Detective Dave Robicheaux discovers as he is deployed to New Orleans. As James Lee Burke's new novel, The Tin Roof Blowdown, begins, Hurricane Katrina has left the commercial district and residential neighborhoods awash with looters and predators of every stripe. The power grid of the city has been destroyed, New Orleans reduced to the level of a medieval society. There is no law, no order, no sanctuary for the infirm, the helpless, and the innocent. Bodies float in the streets and lie impaled on the branches of flooded trees. In the midst of an apocalyptical nightmare, Robicheaux must find two serial rapists, a morphine-addicted priest, and a vigilante who may be more dangerous than the criminals looting the city.

In a singular style that defies genre, James Lee Burke has created a hauntingly bleak picture of life in New Orleans after Katrina. Filled with complex characters and depictions of people at both their best and worst, The Tin Roof Blowdown is not only an action-packed crime thriller, but a poignant story of courage and sacrifice that critics are already calling Burke's best work.

Commander's Kitchen : Take Home the True Taste of New Orleans With More Than 150 Recipes from Commander's Palace Restaurant
Average customer rating:

Brings fond memories to mind

Great compliment to a great restaurant!

Eating great...New Orleans style!

Learn about Creole and Cajun cuisine...

Creole Class Act

Commander's Kitchen : Take Home the True Taste of New Orleans With More Than 150 Recipes from Commander's Palace Restaurant
Ti Adelaide Martin , and Jamie Shannon
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Cajun & Creole | U.S. Regional | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Cookbooks | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Look Inside Health Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook

Arnaud's Restaurant Cookbook

Breakfast At Brennan's And Dinner, Too: The original and most recent recipes from New Orleans' world-famous Brennan's Restaurant and a tribute to its founder, Owen Edward Brennan

Galatoire's Cookbook: Recipes and Family History from the Time-Honored New Orleans Restaurant

Leon Galatoire's Cookbook

ASIN: 0767902904
Release Date: 2000-10-31

Amazon.com

Commander's Palace is an American restaurant treasure. For many years, patrons of the beloved New Orleans institution have been urging the Brennan family, its proprietors, to publish the restaurant's recipes. Commander's Kitchen, written by co-owner Ella Brennan's daughter, Ti Adelaide Martin, and Chef Jamie Shannon, realizes that wish, presenting more than 150 accessible recipes for the restaurant's acclaimed Creole dishes. These reflect a mix of French, Spanish, African, Arcadian, and Native American cooking traditions. The book also provides a glimpse of the history, lore, and daily backstage to-and-fro that have made the century-old restaurant a required dining destination.

"We like to push things to the edge," says Shannon of Commander's vibrant cooking, and in chapters that treat drinks through desserts, the book proves his point. Dishes like Shrimp Tasso with Five-Pepper Jelly, Pan-Crusted Sirloin Steak with Cayenne Butter, and Braised Lamb Shank with Merlot Mushroom Sauce are typical of the heady offerings, fare both earthy and sophisticated. Also presented are recipes for many of Commander's famed brunch dishes, the classic creamed-spinach- and artichoke-garnished Eggs Sardou among them; "The Chef's Table," a chapter of "show-off" dishes served at the restaurant's renowned in-the-kitchen table; and a selection of sweets, including Chocolate Molten Soufflé and the Creole sine qua non dessert, Bread Pudding Soufflé. Illustrated with color photos and containing technique tips throughout (readers learn, for example, the difference between sautéing and panéing), the book is an exuberant portrait of a remarkable American restaurant and its unique cuisine. --Arthur Boehm

Book Description

Commander's Palace is one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved restaurants in the country. It was named the outstanding restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation, and is always rated the most popular restaurant in New Orleans by Zagat. It consistently receives awards from magazines such as Food & Wine, Wine Spectator, and Southern Living. A trip to New Orleans just isn't complete without a meal at Commander's Palace.

Now home cooks can bring its unmatched style, hospitality, and great food to their own tables. Reflecting the restaurant's fascinating culinary intersection--a New Orleans landmark combining native ingredients and techniques with exciting and evolving contemporary flavors--Commander's Kitchen takes readers behind the doors of a truly exciting culinary experience.

Featuring 150 recipes from the restaurant's extensive offerings and other Brennan family recipes, Commander's Kitchen describes step-by-step the secrets to Shrimp and Tasso Henican with Five-Pepper Jelly, Eggs Louis Armstrong, Pan-Seared Crusted Sirloin Steak with Cayenne Butter, Braised Lamb Shanks with Merlot Mushroom Sauce, and, the queen of Creole desserts, Bread Pudding Souffle. Of course, four varieties of gumbo are also included, along with dozens of information-packed sidebars, personal anecdotes, tips for throwing a New Orleans--style bash, and juicy tidbits of Commander's Palace lore. Lavishly illustrated with color and black-and-white photographs that beautifully capture the lively Commander's Palace spirit, Commander's Kitchen lets the good times, and the exceptional dining, roll.

Customer Reviews:

Brings fond memories to mind.......2004-05-23

If you want to remember your meals at Commander's and perhaps try one or two of the dishes on a slow weekend, you will want this on your shelf. At the same time, it will be the occasional book, not one to reach for time and again.

Great compliment to a great restaurant!.......2004-03-27

This is an excellent compliment to one of the best restaurants. Ilove to cook & eat!! Most restaurant cookbooks have cookbokks which its hard to duplicate their meals. Usually they have recipes so complicated ( require kitchen appliances the average person doesn't have or ingredients impossible to find. Nothing is further than the truth with this book. It has easy to follow recipes, which can be cooked with basic cookware. The dishes come out fantastic. If you love creole food, but can't get to New Orleans regularly-- BUY THIS BOOK. You won't regret it.

Eating great...New Orleans style!.......2003-09-08

When my wife and I recently visited the Commander's Palace restaurant and sat at the Chef's Table (located in the kitchen where you are pampered by the staff), current Executive Chef Tory McPhail wrote "Eating great...New Orleans style!" on a menu he signed as a memento of our visit. Not only was he right about the food we had at Commander's Palace that evening, but he also provides a short and to the point description for this cookbook.

This book is a must for those that "live to eat" (as opposed to those that "eat to live") and truly enjoy the New Orleans and Creole food styles. The recipes we've tried so far have turned out wonderfully (the recipe for the Chocolate Molten Souflee alone is almost worth the price of the book) and, thus far, have been easy to follow. The narratives provided by the authors about both the food and the restaurant itself are a great addition to the great recipes.

I would recommend this book, and the restaurant, to anyone.

Learn about Creole and Cajun cuisine..........2002-03-22

Having spent 4 years of my life in Texas I was introduced to the wonders of Creole and Cajun cuisine. Generally, Creole developed in the city of New Orleans using local produce but influenced by the multicultural nature of the city. Cajun (or Acadian) cooking is food from the country.

I am partial to the simplicity of one-pot cooking offered by Cajun cooking. These are wonderful hearty and spicy meals (gumbo, red beans & rice, etoufee, jambalya) that I often cook to serve large groups of people. In fact, Chef Jamie includes many of these recipes in the "crew" section of the cookbook since he used them for staff meals.

Creole Class Act.......2001-12-28

As a longtime fan of Commander's Palace (and creole and cajun cuisine in general), I found the book as much fun to read as the dishes were to prepare. The beautifully presented recipes and well written preparation tips were made all the better by the inclusion of tidbits of New Orleans and Brennan family history. This book is a must have for both veteran and novice cooks interested in preparing great Louisiana style food.

Amazon.com

Bestselling historian Douglas Brinkley, a professor at Tulane University, lived through the destruction of Hurricane Katrina with his fellow New Orleans residents, and now in The Great Deluge he has written one of the first complete accounts of that harrowing week, which sorts out the bewildering events of the storm and its aftermath, telling the stories of unsung heroes and incompetent officials alike. Get a sample of his story--and clarify your own memories--by looking through the detailed timeline he has put together of the preparation, the hurricane, and the response to one of the worst disasters in American history.

Book Description

In the span of five violent hours on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed major Gulf Coast cities and flattened 150 miles of coastline. Yet those wind-torn hours represented only the first stage of the relentless triple tragedy that Katrina brought to the entire Gulf Coast, from Louisiana to Mississippi to Alabama.

First came the hurricane, one of the three strongest ever to make landfall in the United States -- 150-mile-per-hour winds, with gusts measuring more than 180 miles per hour ripping buildings to pieces.

Second, the storm-surge flooding, which submerged a half million homes, creating the largest domestic refugee crisis since the Civil War. Eighty percent of New Orleans was under water, as debris and sewage coursed through the streets, and whole towns in south-eastern Louisiana ceased to exist.

And third, the human tragedy of government mis-management, which proved as cruel as the natural disaster itself. Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans, implemented an evacuation plan that favored the rich and healthy. Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana, dithered in the most important aspect of her job: providing leadership in a time of fear and confusion. Michael C. Brown, the FEMA director, seemed more concerned with his sartorial splendor than the specter of death and horror that was taking New Orleans into its grip.

In The Great Deluge, bestselling author Douglas Brinkley, a New Orleans resident and professor of history at Tulane University, rips the story of Katrina apart and relates what the Category 3 hurricane was like from every point of view. The book finds the true heroes -- such as Coast Guard officer Jimmy Duckworth and hurricane jock Tony Zumbado.

Throughout the book, Brinkley lets the Katrina survivors tell their own stories, masterly allowing them to record the nightmare that was Katrina. The Great Deluge investigates the failure of government at every level and breaks important new stories. Packed with interviews and original research, it traces the character flaws, inexperience, and ulterior motives that allowed the Katrina disaster to devastate the Gulf Coast.

Customer Reviews:

Blown chances, Missed Opportunities.......2007-06-27

"Killer Katrina": The Most Destructive Storm in US History

Katrina's story has been the subject of countless books, articles, documents and investigations. It's still breaking: residents of affected areas in Louisiana and Mississippi are still fighting with insurance companies for compensation. There is more than enough blame to go around: FEMA's Michael (`Brownie's doing a fine job") Brown; the clueless Bush Administration; the Corps of Engineers; New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin; Louisiana Governor Katherine Blanco, and on and on. The New Orleans superdome has been rebuilt--a reminder of failed government policy. The Corps of Engineers has strengthened the antiquated Levee System that keeps Lake Ponchatrain out of the City.

But there are good guys and heroes too: the Coast Guard Cutters and helicopters that plucked countless people from rooftops; the staff of The New Orleans Times-Picayune, which put out the paper over the internet while their offices were flooded, winning two Pulitzer Prizes; and the Red Cross, medical, and public health officials and radio and TV meteorologists who did their best to warn the city in advance.

While Katrina did more property damage than any storm in US History, including Andrew, it was not the worst in terms of loss of life. In 1900, an estimated six-thousand people died when a Hurricane (at the time unnamed and not forecast) inundated Galveston. And in 1927, The Great Flood inundated the Mississippi River Valley with an eerie similarity to Katrina: government mismanagement, misinformation, and greed took nearly as high a toll as the storm. Because of technology, Katrina was the best-documented storm in history. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [...]. has compiled a prodigious amount of information and The New Orleans Times-Picayune archive website has copious documentation.

But there is also some important background: probably the most important books aren't about Katrina but what came before. "Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana's Cajun Coast" by Mike Tidwell; and "Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and how it changed America" by John M. Barry. Both explain the reasons behind the disaster. And it is man, not nature, who bears primary responsibility. Rampant shoreline development has ruined the delicate natural barrier islands and mangrove clumps that protected the city; and politics, race and money have influenced flood policy from the days of Huey Long to the political patronage of the New Orleans Levy Boards.

Of the current crop of Katrina books, a few stand out: "The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast" by Douglas Brinkley; and "Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City" by Jed Horne. Both have good credentials: Horne is metro editor of the Times-Picayune and Brinkley is a professor at Tulane University, which virtually closed after the storm. Brinkley includes just about everyone from President Bush to Mike Brown to the FEMA bureaucracy and the politicians of all stripes and colors.
Brinkley gives one telling example of the way the whole thing was handled. On a political trip elsewhere, Air Force One was diverted over New Orleans. Circling the devastated Ninth Ward at 2,500 feet, Bush resembled a Deus Ex Machina in a blue and white 747.
Despite advance warning and dire threats from the meteorologists, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin refused to order a mandatory evacuation order. Brinkley contends Nagin was more concerned about tourist dollars than safety, frittering away the "Golden Hour" before the deluge hit. An example of missed opportunities was the failure to evacuate nursing home residents, who were tragic and unnecessary victims of the storm.

But Brinkley gives high praise to the Coast Guard, which anticipated problems and responded to them valiantly. (A Coast Guard Admiral was later put in charge of recovery after FEMA dropped the ball)

At over 700 pages, The Great Deluge is a bit over done, but then so was the storm. Another reviewer has noted that in this case, "less is more,'' and I agree that Jed Horne's account is better organized and more tightly written. Four and a half stars to each.

-- 30 --

Good, not Great.......2007-05-29

After reading the Great Deluge, I have a much better idea of how such a terrible and complex tragedy could happen in modern America. Brinkley's local knowledge, gift for storytelling through selected people, and fair-minded approach present a vivid and startling picture of ineptitude, wishful thinking and horrible suffering.

Unfortunately, the book tends to drag on and repeat itself throughout its 600+ pages. And, the author's stated intent to tell the story day-by-day for one week is complicated as he tries to put each of those days into historical and post-event context. Better editing could have produced a briefer, tighter text.

The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.......2007-03-24

A fair and unbiased look at what went wrong. Ray Nagin is shown to be a coward and phoney, more concerned with his own image and safety than doing
his job. He is a man reavealed as having no leadership skills. On the other hand, Governor Blanco looks much better than the common media made her out to be at the time. There are no political heroes, but Nagin is revealed as the worst it can get.
My only criticizm of the book is that the victims never are made to take responsibility for bad behavior. Being poor is an excuse for doing anything criminal or immoral.

Judge, Jury and Executioner - David Brinkley.......2007-01-30

It's a good thing we live in a free society, because if we didn't - no way a guy like Brinkley would get away with publishing such an unspeakable abomination as this book.

The first thing that prospective readers need to know about this abomination is that it was released just days before the New Orleans mayoral elections. There can be little doubt that inflicting political damage at all levels of government, but especially against George W. Bush and Mayor Ray Nagin was a chief objective of this work. That the citizens of New Orleans relected Nagin against a crowded field, and relected Governor Blanco, despite the appaling distortions spewed out by the author stands as an eternal refutation and rebuke against this work, this man, and the Democratic National Committee, for which he obviously wrote.

Below I list just some of the abominations spewed out by this hack:

1.) Black Democrat Mayor Ray Nagin, is really more of white than a black, and more of a Republican than a Democrat.

2.) The "slow" federal response to Katrina was definitely because of racism. If the same had happened to rich whites in Boston, MA, the response would have been swift and effective.

3.) The root cause of the horrific looting wasn't the perpetrators themselves, it was the cops and the federal governement, who through their actions and inactions spawned the lawless behavior.

4.) Karl Rove was behind the "slow" response of the federal government because Lousiana governor Blanco is a Democrat.

If you want to read a book about one of the most devastating natural disasters to ever stike American shores, this isn't it. Not more than 20 to 30% of this book is devoted to the actual weather event itself and the attendant consequences. No, most of the book is about assinging political blame, and laying the foundation (mostly with lies and distortions) to do it. You see to Brinkley, it isn't God or the weather who devastated New Orleans, it was Republicans.

There is only one unshakable hero presented in this book - jounalists. Never once are they presented in a poor light in this book. Doctors also fare well. They are the heros that step into the breach to fill the alleged compassion vacumm left by George Bush. Notably absent is almost ANY mention in this book of the tremedous, vital, critical help that was proferred by churches and other faith-based organizations during and after Katrina. Brinkley is correct, the government was not up to handling a crisis of this magnitude. So, the churches stepped up to help fill the breech, and they get no credit from Brinkley. This book is all about attack and hate. The author is to filled with hate too see the truth.

Ironcially, near the end, the author warns about what revisionists will do the history of Katrina. This guy probably had revisionist tataooed to his armpit when he was born. A born liar - Douglas Brinkley.

From a tourist agast in the aftermath - way too nice to those in charge.......2007-01-21

Great account of individuals at the hospitals who decided to go out on their own to try to evacuate and not wait on government.

Brinkley's book is very well researched and I completely enjoyed all of the heroic accounts of those who help out their fellow man.

Being a tourist there stranded by a bad decision by Delta Airlines (Brinkley is completely accurate in this detail), I can say that there was one obvious mistake - there weren't 20,000 people at the convention center on Tuesday. We were there on Wednesday morning and there were only about 500-1000 people at that point, all thirsting for leadership along with water and MREs. Starting mid day on Wednesday, people started flocking to the convention center in droves and the count could have reached 20,000 LATE on Wednesday evening, lucky for us we were able to exit - thanks to people we met from the Marriott Coroporation.

Maps would have been appreciated by the reader to help them put the puzzle pieces together as they sat on the edges of their seats reading this excellent account of "A Failure of Initiative". I also think Brinkley hinted but wasn't strong enough to point a finger at the one who should bear most of this blame, Governor Blanco.

Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild

Average customer rating:

The "exec summary" of the Bush administration
Palast exposes class warfare.
"Caging" You've heard the tern now read why you should care.
Vote in 2008,,,,,,,,please
PAY ATTENTION!

Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild
Greg Palast
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Conspiracy Theories | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

U.S. | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Human Rights | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy
Conservatives Without Conscience
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11

ASIN: 0452288312

Book Description

In his most provocative and caustically funny book yet, Greg Palast, author of the national bestseller The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, once again gives us the straight scoop on the stories that Big Media won't report. Digging up reams of documents marked "secret" and "confidential," Palast provides the latest lowdown on Bush's secret plans to seize Iraq's oil, the fix planned for the 2008 election, who drowned New Orleans, and the horror and the humor of the War on Terror. With diligent detective work, moral outrage, and a keen sense of the absurd, Palast takes on the "armed and dangerous clowns that rule us" as only he can.

Customer Reviews:

The "exec summary" of the Bush administration .......2007-06-27

I read a lot of books on the Bush administration, but this one puts it all together in one big context and timeframe: from the manipulation of the 2000 election to Iraq; players, victims and an outlook for 2008.
Well investigated.

Palast exposes class warfare........2007-06-27

Greg Palast is a modern day Alexis De Toqueville. And, "Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild" is "Democracy In America" for the 21st century.

If you aren't angry, you aren't paying attention!

"Caging" You've heard the tern now read why you should care........2007-06-23

Greg Palast got Tim Grifths fired as the US Attorney for Arkansas. Now how did that happen? That a guy who reports for The Guardian, a British Newspaper manages to out scoop the US media?

Want to know how the fix for 2008 is already in? Caging.. a process by which minority voters are first purged, then scrubbed, ID's, provisional balloted, then denied their right to vote. And why? Because they are likely to vote Democratic so off they go. And it's not just Republicans who are doing the scrubbing.. Welcome to the high tech version of Jim Crow laws. Now admittedly denying the right to vote to the lower class has been going on since the Jamestown settlement where if you weren't white, land holding, male, and presbyterian you didn't vote either. So there really is nothing new under the sun but in this case it's time to send some of these felons off to jail.

Read it and weep, and then go out and vote.

Vote in 2008,,,,,,,,please.......2007-06-18

The author has great investigative instincts and ability. Why his findings have not come out in the mainstream press in a timely fashion is the mystery that cries for explanation.

The United States is in debt to this author!

PAY ATTENTION!.......2007-06-17

I had put off reading "Armed Madhouse" because I knew enough of this stuff, but I couldn't bury my head in the sand forever, and I have just read it.

Greg Palast is wonderful at ferreting out information and stunningly good as an investigative reporter. And, of course, the more he learns, the more whistle blowers choose him to make public their concerns. Despite the fact he is a reporter, Mr Palast doesn't write like a reporter. He makes snide comments as well as using more adjectives and adverbs than a proper sort of reporter would. I hope this entertaining and passionate style of writing causes people who "aren't interested in politics" to read the book and sit up and take notice of what is going on around them. If you do nothing else, stand in the bookstore and read the three and a half page chapter entitled "The End: The house I live in." It made me cry.

Even I, who tries to keep up with all the real news (rather than the sanitized TV stuff) learned some things in this book. For instance, did you know that William Rehnquist once headed a harassment team called "Operation Eagle Eye" in the 1960's designed to discourage Hispanic voters in Arizona from voting? No wonder, once he was on the Supreme Court he thought it was all right to appoint a president in the 2000 election. And no wonder, despite strong evidence that thousands of votes in Ohio and New Mexico weren't counted in the 2004 election, Democrats figured taking it to court wouldn't help.

Greg Palast also explains exactly how oil influenced the US decision to go to war against Iraq. Here's a clue: it wasn't what we thought.

The last chapter tells us how to avoid the theft of the next election (and what is planned to steal it). However, as long as 59 million Americans are willing to stand four square against the Constitution (and are even surprised and disapproving of what it says), it is probably too late to save the US.

Obituary Cocktail: The Great Saloons of New Orleans (2nd Edition, Expanded)

Average customer rating:

Fantastic Book!
It will make you thirsty
The Spirit of New Orleans
A Bourbon Street Hopper
Obituary Cocktail: The Great Saloon of New Orleans

Obituary Cocktail: The Great Saloons of New Orleans (2nd Edition, Expanded)
Kerri McCaffety , and Andrei Codrescu
Manufacturer: Vissi D'arte Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Travel Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Etouffee, Mon Amour: The Great Restaurants of New Orleans
The Majesty of the French Quarter (Majesty Architecture)
A Guide to the Historic Shops & Restaurants of New Orleans
Letters from New Orleans
The Majesty of St. Charles Avenue

ASIN: 0970933606

Book Description

The new edition: Two years after its original release, the new Obituary Cocktail has more bars, photos, drink recipes, and quotes. Six added spreads include the bar in the kitchen at Commander's Palace, The Circle Bar and its Herradura tequila shot with tonic--the Harry Tonic Jr.--and Butler's fantastically seedy interior.

WINNER Silver Medals, Publisher's Mktg Assoc & Ind Publ Assoc 2002! Book of the Year 1999 (New Orleans Gulf South Booksellers Association).

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Book!.......2007-01-28

If you have ever visited the bars in New Orleans, you will appreciate learning of the little known history of the watering holes that you have spent many an evening drinking and laughing. It reminds you of the many who sat on the stools before you and what interesting things have occured before your presence! The book has beautiful photographs and is very much a necessity for any lover of the city of New Orleans. It is a great coffee table book, and can spark many interesting conversations!

It will make you thirsty.......2003-10-17

first of all, this is a beautifully produced book, with wonderful photographs of the great New Orleans drinking establishments and local scenary.

Secondly, it's a must for any bartender. Not much needs to be said on this topic except for the fact that many great drinks have come out of New Orleans and the bartender (professional or otherwise) should learn how to prepare them.

Finally, the book also presents some important historical information on New Orleans and its saloons. The two go hand in hand.

The Spirit of New Orleans.......2003-08-09

Ms. McCaffety has captured the essence of New Orleans with her wonderful book. The pictures are gorgeous, and the addition of a few traditional New Orleans cocktail recipes and the history of the saloons rounds out the book nicely. I can't wait to get back to New Orleans and visit the bars I've missed.

A Bourbon Street Hopper.......2002-11-08

I don't think I've ever experienced anything quite like the bars in New Orleans! They are fantastic! The press has given Bourbon St. such a negative view, but I had no trouble the two times I went down by myself! I mean if you use a little common sense, then there's no problem! The people were some of the nicest I've ever met! Everyone treats you like family and you have such a great time! This book shows that down-home, friendly atmosphere! It was interesting for me too, to see a lot of the places off of Bourbon that I didn't get to see! You know, the 5 star places that cost an arm and a leg, and require reservations! This is just another great book to relive memories of your trip to "Sin City."

Obituary Cocktail: The Great Saloon of New Orleans.......2000-05-29

Growing up in New Orleans is a rare experience. Living away often makes one nostalgic and wistful.. Reading "Obituary Cocktail" brings the sights, sounds, smells and tastes roaring back. This is a beautiful book. The photos are warm, romantic and evocative. The commentary is pure magic and the recipes are fabulous. Whether you live there now, once were there or have never visited - this book captures the charm, the quirkiness and the mystery of New Orleans and her great watering holes.

Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City

Average customer rating:

Quality journalistic effort
Informative, but dry.
A Dismaying Story of Katrina
The must-read book on Katrina
Follow the money

Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City
Jed Horne
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Disaster Relief | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast
The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina--the Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist
Why New Orleans Matters
1 Dead in Attic
Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster

ASIN: 1400065526
Release Date: 2006-07-11

Book Description

Hurricane Katrina shredded one of the great cities of the South, and as levees failed and the federal relief effort proved lethally incompetent, a natural disaster became a man-made catastrophe. As an editor of New Orleans’ daily newspaper, the Pulitzer Prize—winning Times-Picayune, Jed Horne has had a front-row seat to the unfolding drama of the city’s collapse into chaos and its continuing struggle to survive.

As the Big One bore down, New Orleanians rich and poor, black and white, lurched from giddy revelry to mandatory evacuation. The thousands who couldn’t or wouldn’t leave initially congratulated themselves on once again riding out the storm. But then the unimaginable happened: Within a day 80 percent of the city was under water. The rising tides chased horrified men and women into snake-filled attics and onto the roofs of their houses. Heroes in swamp boats and helicopters braved wind and storm surge to bring survivors to dry ground. Mansions and shacks alike were swept away, and then a tidal wave of lawlessness inundated the Big Easy. Screams and gunshots echoed through the blacked-out Superdome. Police threw away their badges and joined in the looting. Corpses drifted in the streets for days, and buildings marinated for weeks in a witches’ brew of toxic chemicals that, when the floodwaters finally were pumped out, had turned vast reaches of the city into a ghost town.

Horne takes readers into the private worlds and inner thoughts of storm victims from all walks of life to weave a tapestry as intricate and vivid as the city itself. Politicians, thieves, nurses, urban visionaries, grieving mothers, entrepreneurs with an eye for quick profit at public expense–all of these lives collide in a chronicle that is harrowing, angry, and often slyly ironic.

Even before stranded survivors had been plucked from their roofs, government officials embarked on a vicious blame game that further snarled the relief operation and bedeviled scientists striving to understand the massive levee failures and build New Orleans a foolproof flood defense. As Horne makes clear, this shameless politicization set the tone for the ongoing reconstruction effort, which has been haunted by racial and class tensions from the start.
Katrina was a catastrophe deeply rooted in the politics and culture of the city that care forgot and of a nation that forgot to care. In Breach of Faith, Jed Horne has created a spellbinding epic of one of the worst disasters of our time.

Customer Reviews:

Quality journalistic effort.......2007-06-17

This book is a very good read. It tells the story of Katrina from many different perspectives and the author seems to present each view fairly. I live in Baton Rouge, and I have friends who lived in New Orleans and have left the city since. I feel the book is an accurate portryal of Katrina and how it affected the great city of New Orleans.

Informative, but dry........2007-04-28

Like many Americans, I wanted to go behind the headlines of Hurricane Katrina and read an in-depth account of the disaster and the government's disasterous response to it. I stumbled across Jed Horne's book, and it looked interesting. While parts of it are gripping and informative, the book on a whole is not a cohesive narrative, and is dry in many parts.

The most interesting parts of the book for me were the first 5 chapters or so. Reading about the people struggling as their homes suddenly floated away was gripping; Patrina Peters' story was particularly affecting. Plus, Horne's narration of the people at Charity Hospital struggle to serve the patients without power was riveting. I thought that the story of a group of Katrina evacuees at a school in Houston was interesting, both for how they adjusted and how their new school exposed just how bad the New Orleans school system was. Of course, we read about the ordeal of people in the Superdome and Convention Center, in all its sordid detail.

Unfortunately, "Breach of Faith" loses focus, even in its interesting parts. Horne jumps from one story to another, which makes it difficult to stay interested. I had heard that the stories of those Horne chronicles intersect; that may be, but he certainly didn't demonstrate this through a single narrative. When I got to the part where Horne describes the flood in Kobe, Japan, which is supposedly comporable to New Orleans, I thought "what is the point of all this," and I skipped the chapter. Horne's chapters on the post-Katrina cleanup are similarly weak, and not interesting enough to hold my interest. I just skipped to the last chapter, where Horne sums everything up.

In conclusion, I would say that this book is worth checking out at the library, but not buying. Furthermore, I would say that it's probably not best to read it from beginning to end; I tried that, and lost patience very quickly. The first 200 pages are of interest, as is the last chapter. The rest, with tales of engineers, lawyers, and committees, I found too dry and unfocused for all but devoted "Katrina junkees."

A Dismaying Story of Katrina.......2006-12-26

Mr. Horne is a metro editor of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans and received a Pulitzer Prize for his part in the newspaper's coverage of Hurricane Katrina. His book describes the events involved with Katrina, the reactions to the storm from survivors, the efforts to help, the failure of the bureaucracy to repond effectively, and the reasons why the disaster unfolded as it did. The book does an excellent job of telling the story and will make you feel as if you experienced much of it firsthand. One warning - Make sure your neck is strong because I expect you will spend a good deal of time while reading the book shaking your head and saying "I can't believe they did that".

The must-read book on Katrina.......2006-11-07

Clearly the most thoughtful and best-researched of the first round of Katrina books. Jed Horne's careful reporting and insightful analysis contributes to our understanding of the natural and human-made disasters of August 29, 2005 in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Horne skillfully links the human stories of Katrina to the ecological and political contexts that brought such devastation.

Follow the money.......2006-11-05

This is a very well written, and extremely eye-opening, account of the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the citizens of New Orleans. Perhaps more to the point, it is the story (actually many stories) about the failure of government -- OUR government, unbelievably an AMERICAN government -- to adequately care for its people before, during and after a natural disaster. And, as is often the case, this failure is directly related to money -- who has it, who doesn't, and who gets to decide how public money is spent.

Jed Horne's excellent narrative is really a chronicle about consistent ineptitude, callousness and greed on the part of government officals and private decision-makers. The story begins with the Army Corps of Engineers, which failed to properly build the levees that were supposed to protect New Orleans, and ends with myriad actions of elected representatives who put personal and political gain ahead of the well-being of the city and its inhabitants. And these elected representataives can be found at all levels, from the cartoonish New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, to our buffoonish American president, George W. Bush.

For those of us who grew up thinking of America as being the greatest country in the world, one that solved problems and looked out for its people, rich and poor alike, watching New Orleans come to the brink of destruction felt like we had abruptly been transported to some banana republic ruled by a corrupt junta. Indeed, it turns out that our very own junta in Washington couldn't even get it together to send food and water to thousands of people trapped in the Superdome, yet CNN and many other news media managed to get their reporters and camera crews into the breach immediately.

And I do mean "breach." Most of the horrific survivors' tales recounted in Horne's book had their source in the flooding caused by breaches in the city's levees and industrial canals. We will probably never learn what the true causes of the massive destruction were, but it's a pretty sure bet -- at least according to several scientists interviewed by Horne -- that a category 3 storm like Katrina, although certainly not gentle, was not enough to wreak the devastation and trauma experienced by those who lived through the disaster. The real cause was flooding, which could have been prevented, or at least drastically contained, had public officials properly maintained the levees and/or built them right in the first place.

As if that weren't enough, when it began to seem clear that "mistakes were made," the first reaction of the government was to censor the state university professor who pointed out the problems. And then there was the fiasco at FEMA, the ridiculous evacuation scheme of Mayor Nagin and the incredibly callous comments made by Barbara Bush at the Superdome. But at least the president's mother showed up. He merely flew over the city on his way back to Washington from his Texas retreat. It wasn't until well after the storm, when it looked like the disaster was becoming a political problem, that W. actually set foot on the soggy ground of New Orleans.

While it's true that storms are natural occurances, much of the pain and suffering of New Orleans can be attributed to human failure, most particularly the failure of the humans that we elect to serve our national interest, and perhaps to our own failure for electing them at all. Breach of Faith powerfully illustrates that point, as well as the courage and enduring compassion of the "little guys" like the rest of us. This book is truly a Must Read.

Katrina: The Ruin and Recovery of New Orleans

Average customer rating:

Masterpiece of Photojournalism
great time document
Katrina: The Ruin and Recovery of New Orleans
Gross omissions
Katrina documented upclose and personal

Katrina: The Ruin and Recovery of New Orleans

Manufacturer: Spotlight Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Disaster Relief | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Natural Disasters | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City
The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms
The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina--the Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist
Time: Hurricane Katrina: The Storm That Changed America

ASIN: 1596701846

Book Description

Katrina, the worst urban disaster in American history, did not end when the hurricane's eye passed New Orleans on September 29, 2005. In 192 pages packed with images of destruction and revival, Katrina: The Ruin and Recovery of New Orleans hints at the scope of the devastation and at the resilience of a city that has resolved to survive it.The book details how Katrina was much more than wind and flooding lives were torn apart as surely as houses and landscapes. Nor can it rightly be called a natural disaster. Engineering failures underlay the levee breaches and politics clouded and confounded the relief and recovery efforts. At every turn, the saga of a city's ordeal invited spectacular photography, provided here as the visual record of Katrina and her aftermath.

Customer Reviews:

Masterpiece of Photojournalism.......2007-06-08

While many want to forget Katrina and its devastation, the nation should remember her in true factual details. This book is by far the most comprehensive and balanced presentation of the physics, geography, topography, socioeconomics, and psychology of the tragedy. I was most impressed with the graphics and photos documenting the timing and effects of the levee failures.

great time document.......2007-05-26

This is the most excellent book about Katrina and New Orleans,picture-wise and text-wise. No better way to do it

Katrina: The Ruin and Recovery of New Orleans.......2007-03-10

This a great look into what happened before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. Awesome photos!

Gross omissions.......2007-03-01

In their zeal to flay the federal government's response to Katrina, the authors and editors of this book omit any mention of the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy response to Katrina. NOT ONE MENTION. NOT ONE PHOTO. Over 30,000 people assisted, but because these were federal agencies, not a word. A generation from now, young people will look at this book and think there was no response except local, and that's WRONG. Great photos, but lousy journalism.

Katrina documented upclose and personal.......2007-02-06

I lived in New Orleans in the 1970's and have visited friends and family there every year for over 25 years, going back, and relishing the laidback, intemporal feeling of the city and its culture rich in European and African roots. Seeing the devastation, kin to war-time destruction, in December of 2006, I had to bring back to my current residence a reminder of the havoc that a bad storm and poor prevention and poor crisis management wrecked upon the city that Time and Care forgot.

An excellent document with a few visual reminders that there is perhaps hope to prevent another flood situation so severe.

Hats off to The Times Picayune for showing human suffering and loss without stripping people of their dignity, not abusing and becoming sensationalist for the sole sake of selling, but to remind those who are listening that to lose forever New Orleans eccentric mix of aesthetics and personality due to a mix of indigenous peoples and cultures would be tantamount to Europe losing Venice.

Average customer rating:

Therapy in disguise...
Best Book Ever
One Dead in Attic
a tearful read
Thank god he's ours.

1 Dead in Attic
Chris Rose
Manufacturer: CR Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City
The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Why New Orleans Matters
Time: Hurricane Katrina: The Storm That Changed America
Letters from New Orleans

ASIN: 0977771504

Product Description

From back cover "This book is dedicated to the memory of Thomas Coleman. He was a retired londshoreman, a storyteller, and a guy who liked to spend time with family and freinds. A New Oreanian. He was 80 years old when he died in his attic at 2214 St. Roch Avenue, in the 8th Ward, on or about Aug. 29, 2005. He had a can of juice and a bedspread at his side when the waters rose. There were more than a thousand like him."

Customer Reviews:

Therapy in disguise..........2007-03-04

I was in New Orleans through the storm. Tuesday morning, we waded through contaminated water to evacuate for what we thought would be 1 or 2 days, tops - just like every other storm. However, the government forced us into exile for 5 weeks, not being able to check on our homes, not knowing the conditions we would return to. For over a month we were completely dependent on the kindness of strangers in another state.

While Chris Rose is a transplant, and not a native, we think we'll keep him. He cleverly brings to us the anger, the frustration, the sadness, and the joy that existed in our city after "the big one." You will cry at the loss of life and property. You will laugh at the quirky characters wandering the city. You will remember the survival skills you employed to get what you needed to make it through a day in October. You will hate those who said we abandoned our beloved pets. And, you will be grateful for the kindness of strangers. Strangers who sheltered, clothed, and fed you and told you that you were safe and would be okay.

Anyone with a connection to New Orleans will love this book. I made a point of giving Christmas gifts last year that benefitted Katrina charities, so this book was given to friends in other parts of the country, including some exiles. Some did not want to read the book, thinking it would be too upsetting. But, after they read it they thanked me.

As an unfortunate postscript, "the cat lady" that we all grew to love in this book recently passed away. She was mugged in a store parking lot, pushed to the ground, and suffered a broken hip. She died after complications from the surgery. R.I.P. Cat Lady.

Best Book Ever.......2007-02-24

I am a New Orleans resident, and this is one of my favorite books. It really captures the feelings of all of us living here. Our pride, our loss and our lives. Thank you Chris Rose.

One Dead in Attic.......2007-02-21

This book is a collection of articles the author, a columnist for the New Orleans Times Picayune, the city's leading newspaper, wrote for his paper describing his personal experiences during and after hurricane Katrina. The first chapter/article is a stunning emotional description of the author's experiences during and immdiately after the storm, but he gradually looses his emotional grip on the reader as the chapters became repetitions of the personal story of a well-to-do, well educated professional whose house and contents suffered no damage, who apparently had no friends who suffered serious losses, and whose personal angst springs from the destruction of the city he loves and the dislocation of personal friendships. This is admitedly reason to grieve, but the book would have benefited greatly from some discussion of the author's situation compared to that of the 80% of New Orleans' residents whose homes, possessions, and often family members, were lost. The book's title is virtually the only reference to those where were found dead in attics where they had gone to escape rising water and who drowned there unable to cut a hole to escape to the roof.

a tearful read.......2007-02-18

I didn't read Chris Rose's articles regularly while living in New Orleans, but since being displaced after Katrina, I crave them. They keep me connected with all that is postive, negative or in recovery in my hometown. This book was a tough read, even 18 months after the fact, but so touching, real, and insightful. It made me laugh and cry and remember. I highly recommend it to ANYONE, whether or not you are from New Orleans. So many have forgotten, but no one should forget.

Thank god he's ours........2007-02-05

For those who don't live there, didn't grow up there, and/or don't read his columns, Chris Rose became the city's unofficial therapist after Katrina. His columns -- this journal -- were his daily attempt for himself and for everyone trying to make sense of a shattered world, of being abandoned by the government, of trying to find in themselves 'an invincible summer in the depths of winter.'

For my non-Nola friends and relatives who were trying to understand what was happening in those first weeks and months after Katrina, I sent them Rose's columns and they begged for more. It was the only thing that shed light for those who weren't living through it. And it was my way to subtly remind people that while they might forget, none of it was over.

Mr. Rose lives and breathes his love for the city in this book, and gets those outside the experience to feel the frustration and desperate need for hope that locals had (and still have). As you read you quickly begin to understand who we are, why we love our city so much, and why it's important to the overall culture of the United States.

I was so grateful for his columns--I don't know that my parents, who still live in Nola, would have made it were it not for him. His raw pain on those pages, his ability to remind everyone of the goodness of the city and her soul in the midst of it all kept so many people going, laughing through tears. He shared his heart and he is a hero for it.

After you read the book and find you want more, he can easily be Googled (I can't put the link in here or they remove it!)

Books:

Books